Trotline and holder therefor



April 1962 c. H. I-IIESS ET AL 3,029,545

TROTLINE AND HOLDER THEREFOR Filed Nov. 29, 1960 Clem H Hess Raymond C. Hess INVENTORS BY MM 3% 3,029,545 TRQTLINE AND HIELDER THEREFOR Ciem H. Hess and Raymond C. Hess, both of Box 726, (Ionway, Ark. Filled Nov. 29, 1.969, Ser. No. 72,392 4 Claims. (Cl. 433-545) This invention relates to an improved trotline and an improved holder and carrier therefor.

An object of the invention is to structurally, functionally and otherwise improve upon similar constructed and performing trotlines and holders and, in doing so, to provide a simplified trotline and holder combination which is of the utmost simplicity and construction and which, under the circumstances, may be readily and satisfactorily used.

The trotline is unique in that the fishhook staging or suspending leaders are amply long and strong. In fact each leader has a lower end joined by a knot to an eye of the cooperating fishhook and joined by a knot to the intended portion of the trotline. Instead of one long loop, as is sometimes used in prior art devices, two loops are defined by knotting the intermediate portions of the strands together.

The holder features an elongated wooden or an equivalent buoyant block which, if desired, may be made of wood. Being buoyant it floats in the vent that it is accidentally dropped in the water which is being fished.

The elongated member or block is preferably rectangular in cross-section so that it may function as a satisfactory handle. The underneath or bottom side has a shallow open-ended groove to accommodatingly seat the bends or bent portions of the closely grouped fish hooks, that is, when the hooks are in stored position.

A further feature resides in the grooved block in conjunction with a linearly straight non-corrodible spring steel rod. The rod has one laterally bent end jointed to a like or corresponding end portion of the block. The other end projects beyond the adjacent or other end of the block to assist in piloting the hooks on the rod for compact storage.

Particularly, novelty is predicated upon having the rod opposed to the central longitudinal portion of the groove and sufiiciently close to the cooperating surface of the groove that the curved bends of the hooks are firmly seated to guard against displacement and are yieldingly retained by the inherent retentive properties of the rod, the hooks being strung, of course, on the rod.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a trotline and holder or carrier therefor with the hooks of the trotline stored for carrying and subsequent use.

FIG. 2 is also a view in perspective on a larger scale to bring out the details and their construction and cooperation.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sections on the lines 3-3 and 4-4, respectively, of FIG. 2.

Considering first the trotline storing, holding and carrying device this is of the utmost simplicity in construction and comprises an elongated wooden or equivalent buoyant member or block 6. This block may be made of commercial plastics or constructed of wood so that it is light in weight, strong and does not sink in case it is accidentally dropped overboard which, of course, sometimes happens. This block or member 6 is preferably rectangular in cross section as shown in FIG. 3 and comprises a substantially Patented Apr. 17, 1962 plane or fiat top side 8, flat or plane longitudinal vertical sides 10 and a grooved bottom side. The groove is denoted generally by the numeral 12 and it opens through the transverse'ends of the member 6. It is shallow and the transverse curvature is such that it will conformingly accommodate the fishhooks in a manner to be described. The hook stringing and storing rod is denoted by the numeral 14 and is of spring steel and linearly straight and circular in cross-section. The rod proper is disposed in close spaced parallelism to the median or central longitudinal portion 16 of the groove. One end of the rod is bent as at 18 to provide an anchor 20 and this anchor is embedded securely in the block and to avoid splitting a dowel or an equivalent pin 22 is driven transversely through the end portion 23 of the block. The rod is of such a length that the right hand end portion 24 projects beyond the corresponding right hand portion 25 of the block or member. This extended end portion facilitates paying out the line and also re-engaging the hooks with the rod for compact and convenient storage as illustrated particularly in FIG. 1.

The trotline is shown as embodying a left hand end portion 26 wound around the block or member and ready for anchorage or attachment to a suitable relatively sta- 'tionary stake on the shore, a tree or the like, or to an anchored buoy or float in the water when the circumstances require it (not shown). The other or right hand end portion of the trotline is denoted at 30 and this end portion has a part thereof wrapped or wound around the block or member 6 as denoted at 32. The median looped portions of the trotline are denoted at 34 in FIG. 2.

The fishhooks are conventional and are denoted by the numeral 36 each hook including a shank 38 having a bent portion or curvate bend 40 at one end terminating in a barbed bill 42. While it may not be new in the art to use double strands for the hook suspending or staging leaders 44 it is believed to be new to utilize a leader in which two comparatively short looped portions 44 and 46 are provided. The upper looped portion, shown at the right in FIG. 2, is connected by a knot 48 to the trotline 34. The lower knotted end 50 is connected to the eye on the suspended shank 38. The intermediate portions, which actually define the loops 44 and 46, are connected by a third knot 52. Thus these dual-loop leaders 42. are strong, easier to handle in taking in and storing the line or removing the hooked leaders step-by-step from the end portion 24 when stringing the ready-to-use trotline (not shown) between the ends 28 and 32 during the fishing expedition.

With this construction it will be evident from FIG. 1 that the hooks can be strung on the rod and the bent portions stored and securely seated in the channel or groove as evident from FIG. 1. The components of the trotline 34 plus the leaders 42 make it possible to bundle these components together and to keep them in bundled form with rubber bands or the like 54.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A trotline storing and holding device comprising an elongated member constructed of buoyant material, rectangular in cross-section and providing a handle, a rod linearly straight from end to end and on which a plurality of fishhooks may be slidingly strung and stored in sideby-side compact relation when they are not being used,

said rod being disposed in close but spaced proximity to a cooperating grooved surface of said member and having one end free from said surface and the other end secured to a corresponding end portion of said member, whereby to provide a unitary device which is easy to carry, handle and otherwise use, said rod being made of spring steel having prerequisite resilient properties, said other end being secured to said corresponding end inwardly of the terminal of said corresponding end and being bent at right angles and parallel to said corresponding end and having its terminal embedded within the member and consequently concealed.

2. A trotline storing and holding device comprising an elongated member constituting a handle, a linearly straight rod on which a plurality of fishhooks may be slidingly strung and stored in side-by-side compact relation when they are not being used, said rod being disposed in close but spaced proximity to a single cooperating surface of said member and having one end free and the other end secured to a corresponding end of said member, whereby to provide a two-part but unified device which is easy to carry, handle and otherwise use, said member being solid but buoyant, non-circular in cross-section, said cooperating surface being elongated and having an open-ended groove formed therein, said groove being of a width appreciably greater than the cross-section of said rod, said rod being circular in cross-section and the space between the rod and said surface being approximately the same as the cross-section of the curved bent portions of the fishhooks which are suspended on and yieldingly held by the retention action of the holding rod clamping the bent portions against said surface.

3. A trotline and a carrier therefor comprising a pocketsize elongated wooden block-like member, said member being solid but buoyant and having a longitudinal open ended shallow groove in one lengthwise side, a linearly straight spring steel rod having one end secured to a corresponding one end of said member and the other end extending beyond the corresponding other end of said member, said rod being of a cross-section less than the width of the groove and opposed to the lengthwise center portion of the groove with equal half-portions to the left and right thereof projecting equally to and beyond diametrically opposite sides of the rod, said rod being provided with a lateral bend at said one end and said bent end being wholly embedded and terminally anchored securely in said member.

4. The structure defined in claim 3, and in combination, a trotline provided with leaders, one end of each leader secured to the trotline, the other end of the leader being connected to an eye at one end of a fishhook shank, said shank provided at the other end with a curved bend terminating in a barbed bill, the curvature of the bend substantially corresponding to the arcuity of the transverse curvature of the groove, the various books being removably strung on the rod and the bent portions clampingly seated in the groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,242,509 Coalson May 20, 1941 2,555,397 Coward June 5, 1951 2,633,661 Stevens Apr. 7, 1953 2,670,565 Platt Mar. 2, 1954 2,778,142 Berry Jan. 22, 1957 2,804,716 Adkison Sept. 3, 1957 

